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Updated June 9, 2019

Family name origins & meanings

  • Ukrainian, Belorussian, Slovak (Medved’), Czech (Medvěd), Slovenian, Croatian, and Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic) : from the nickname Medved ‘bear’, applied to a large, strong, or clumsy person. In some cases this name may be a reduced form of Ukrainian or Belorussian Medvedev, a patronymic name of the same origin.

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